Kiama MP Gareth Ward's criminal trial told of ‘unreliability' in closing address
Mr Ward, a NSW independent MP, was charged in March 2022 with three counts of assault with act of indecency, an alternative charge of common assault against an 18-year-old man at Meroo Meadow in 2013, and intercourse without consent against a 24-year-old man in Potts Point in 2015.
Since his arrest three years ago, the 43-year-old has denied the allegations and pleaded not guilty to all counts.
In the Darlinghurst District Court on Monday, defence barrister David Campbell SC continued his closing address, telling the court that the first complainant, a parliamentary staffer who was 24 at the time of the alleged incident, has a 'certain unreliability' when it comes to his memory.
In evidence, the man was earlier asked about which particular event he was attending at Parliament House on the night in question, to which he said he couldn't recall 'exactly' but gave details as to which event he believed it was.
'I believed it was that event,' the man said.
'Do you think it, do you believe it or do you know it … what's the position?' Mr Campbell replied, to which the man stated he 'believes it'.
Mr Campbell told the jury that what the man couldn't do was say he 'knows it'.
'He (the complainant) said that sometimes memories can meld together, particularly given the amount of time that has passed,' he said.
'Due to that corrosive effect on the memory, there must be a certain unreliability of what (name redacted) is now suggesting to you the jury.'
Mr Campbell went on to thank the jury for their patience over the past eight weeks.
'This is the last chance we have to say anything to you on behalf of Mr Ward … and there may well be bits we haven't covered,' he said.
'Our submission to you is clearly this: The Crown has simply not discharged the burden it has in either of those two complainants' cases.'
The barrister urged the jury to find the MP not guilty on all counts.
Mr Ward is alleged to have assaulted a man, who had just turned 18 at the time, at the MP's South Coast home in February 2013.
It's also alleged Mr Ward sexually assaulted another man – who was 24 years old at the time – at his Potts Point apartment in September 2015.
Beginning his political career in 2011, Mr Ward was a councillor on the Shoalhaven Council before becoming the Liberal member for Kiama in 2011, a seat he has held since.
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